Historical Theology: How Did We Get Our Bible?

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Lecture audio: How Did We Get Our Bible?

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How Did We Get Our Bible?

-        Most scholars agree that all 27 books of our New Testament were written and in circulation by the end of the first century (or, in a couple instances, by very early in the second century); the earliest ones (like Mark & Galatians) were probably in circulation in the 50s AD. A few things need to be kept in mind, though:

-   These books were circulating independently—other than some of Paul’s letters, they were probably not being used as a unified volume.

-   Most books probably did not enjoy a universal geographic appeal early on—for instance, Matthew is considered to have been widely used in Syria among Aramaic-background Christians, whereas Mark and Luke circulated more among Greek-speaking communities further west.

-   Whereas many of our New Testament books tell us who wrote them, some are anonymous (for instance, Hebrews, as well as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, whose “titles” were only added later). Other books, such as James and Jude, give the names of their authors but not a firm statement of their apostolic identity.

-   There were also a few other very early Christian books in circulation, like the Didache, a Christian handbook from the first century which claims to be “the teaching of the Twelve,” and 1 Clement, a letter from the first post-apostolic generation of the church of Rome, quite possibly written earlier than Revelation. There was also a whole range of other early Christian literature which tried to “fill in the gaps” of the Gospel stories (like several interesting books which add details about Jesus’ birth and childhood; they are actually where we get the traditional picture that the Bethlehem stable was in a cave).

-   Neither was there an official collection of Old Testament documents—there were two groups of books that the Jews of the period recognized as inspired: the Torah (Pentateuch), and “prophecy” (which included many of the books of history and wisdom as well as the prophets). But there were also other pseudo-Old Testament books in circulation, called the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, which many early Christians used and found edifying.

-        Since none of the earliest Christians produced a definitive collection, or “canon,” of the authoritative books, later generations were left with the task of figuring out which ones truly bore the authentic stamp of apostolic teaching.

-        The first major challenge came from a heretic named Marcion, in the mid-2^nd century.

-   Marcion, influenced by some Gnostic tendencies, thought that the God of the Old Testament, who was often described figuratively as having human features and emotions, could not have been the same God revealed through Jesus Christ. So he released the very first list of “approved” books, but he included only the letters of Paul and a watered-down version of Luke. 

 

The early church fathers, woken up by this affront to the traditional use of biblical documents, started working on compiling the true “official list” (canon) should be. This process went on from the mid-2^nd century to the late 4^th century. In general, three main factors had to be present to guarantee a book’s acceptance as “inspired Scripture”:

  1.) It had to be authored by an apostle (or a close representative thereof)—no books that were not from the original apostolic generation made the cut.

  2.) It had to be universally accepted and in widespread use among all the churches, from Persia in the east to Spain in the west.

  3.) It had to agree with apostolic doctrine—the core of the faith—that had been recognized and passed on from Jesus and the apostles.

 

    -   Please note: This process was not an act of the church giving authority to these books, but rather of recognizing their spiritual authority already inherent in these three factors.

-        Most of the books in our New Testament were immediately agreed upon. A few, however, hit temporary snags: no one really knew who wrote Hebrews, a few people doubted that 2 Peter had actually been written by Peter, and Revelation had never been widely used in the worship of the eastern churches. After some debate, though, all 27 made it in, and a clear line formed between these apostolic Christian books, carrying with them the clear inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and all the other early Christian books. Today, every single Christian denomination in the world agrees on that 27-book canon.

-        As for the Old Testament, the Christian churches agreed with the traditional view of the Pharisees on which books were sacred—the 39 books that we now continue to honor. However, many denominations also include a “second canon” of additional books which, even if not fully inspired, are still edifying. These are known as the Apocrypha.

What does all this mean for us today?

-        We can be confident in the authority and inspiration of our biblical books. (If every single Christian denomination can agree on something, it’s probably a safe bet!)

-        We need to remember that the Bible is a library of books, and even though we use it in one single volume, each book has its own themes and concerns that it’s trying to address; if we read it all as one book without regard for these distinctions, we’ll miss the special emphases.

-        Although the Bible is our supreme witness to the apostolic faith, and thus our one authoritative guide, we also need to recognize that God speaks and works through the community of faith—the church. Just as God used the church to collect and ratify his Scriptures, so God still gives the church (and not the individual believer) the central place in making known his will in the world.

-        Even though some of the books that didn’t make the cut aren’t inspired by God, they’re still edifying and they give a fascinating glimpse at how the first few generations of Christians thought. Reading and studying them can help us better understand the culture and perspectives of the biblical authors. Highly recommended are the Didache, 1 Clement, the letters of Ignatius, and, from the Old Testament Apocrypha, Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon.